To get your farmers market level of local products any day of the week, go to Sonoma Market. This…read moreis where you find everything you need for the perfect picnic or dinner featuring hyper-local everything! Don't feel like packing a picnic or prepping or cooking? Good thing Sonoma Market is known for their sandwiches and deli and fresh prepared meals. You'll find a really fun selection of local cheeses, condiments, produce, and baked goods that bigger grocery stores don't carry. You'll spend a little more, but the shopping experience is more curated and atmospheric, and the products speak for themselves. I stopped in recently while on a short trip to Sonoma, specifically for salsa, some kind of dip or spread for crackers, and a cheese or two. I spent awhile browsing because that's the best part, and left with exactly what I needed (proud and amazed I stuck to my budget haha). I bought a fantastic bleu cheese, brie, a cantina style salsa, and this whipped, layered, tomato-basil dip made of ground almonds, avocado, sour cream, tomatoes, and herbs. Kind of a lot going on, but it was so good. It's always fun to see what you'll find here. Like a locally made gluten free apple pie, the perfect bouquet of flowers, or a freshly baked loaf of sourdough.

The management response is tone deaf to the facts laid out in my reviews. It's not a one time…read moresituation, it's serial failure that needs a review of your process. A commitment to better food. The store could sell so much more food than it does, they have no idea. But people want quality food at the hot bar not what they have there now. Overall, the store is pretty good but they're hot food display is an absolute embarrassment for the store. It's always old picked over food or just empty. If you come in here at five 5 o'clock or after, it's always a disgusting display. Very sad to see.

After a day of running errands, my brother was giving me a ride home when he says, "I need to get…read moresome flatbread..." I remembered a place on Jackson Street that I had gone to 5 years ago that had a tremendous selection - looked it up on Yelp and it was no longer on Jackson, but was listed in Castro Valley. So we went thought we'd go by and give it a try. Great decision! The "new" store in Castro Valley is much brighter, cleaner, nicer than the old location. I think the old location had more stuff from Eastern Europe, but this new location seems to have a broader selection, with more stuff from Western Europe and the Middle East. The guy behind the counter was very friendly and helpful - always willing to answer questions and even give tips on how to use the products that they sell. And his recommendations have been great - we asked him about which tahini and zaatar to get (they have many different brands/types of each...) and the ones he recommended have been way tastier than any of the brands that you find in most markets. Especially good was his recommendation on lebnah - he said that the brands they carry are all good, but they have some that they package in-house that was special. I tried it - it was less expensive than the other brands, but was the very best lebnah that I have ever tasted! Richer, creamier, with just the right amount of tang. Wonderful stuff! Anyway, Crossroads is a nice, clean, well-lit place with a great selection of unique products, and friendly, knowledgeable sales staff. Well worth a trip!

Tons of European groceries here. Happy of them I done even have any ideas of what they are. It was…read morenice to go through the store. Ended up getting some pelmini and chocolate banana gummies from Croatia. They have all the stuff for your Dubai chocolates. And panettone! Will be back to try other stuff.

I was doing a day of exploration in Sonoma --- mainly the missions --- and arrived somewhere…read morein-and-around Vallejo House. As I was heading back to the square (where there is an abundance of restaurants), I didn't want the busyness of the scene; thankfully, I got on Instagram, typed "good eats in Sonoma", and BAM! Salumeria Ovello popped up on my feed, and thank goodness it did! An easy 4-minute walk from Vallejo House, Salumeria Ovello is owned by Andrea, who is a Michelin-star chef from the area of Piedmont, Italy. Having been to Italy twice this past year alone, I remember quite well the quality and taste of the classed Italian Sandwiches. The worker who served at the counter was very helpful, and within the restaurant --- there are just a few seats. I'd say, 3 tables with two seats at each table. For my food, I decided to order the Massimo --- which is on "sliced Focaccia, and has sun dried tomatoes, stracciatella di burrata, prosciutto cotto, basil pesto and crumbled taralli (crackers)". Each sandwich is made fresh-to-order, and you can taste the quality. Each ingredient worked together in harmony, and to satisfy the americani in me, I definitely enjoyed the taralli in the sandwich --- reminded me of putting chips in my sandwiches in school. While I waited, Andrea also brought out some slices of salami for me to try --- free of charge, which was very kind of him to do. All in all, if you want to get away from the busyness of the Mission Square, take a 4-minute walk to Salumeria Ovello, and you'll find a little piece of Italy in Sonoma! Ciao tutti!

Solid Salumeria and Sammie spot in Sonoma. Worth stopping by and going in if you want fresh and…read morewell prepared meats and Sammie's. Prepared foods were all fresh and authentic and the cured meats were yummy. Had a top notch sandwich on fresh focaccia and tasted some of the house cured meats and we will be back !

The cheese is wonderful. This is a small store off the beaten path of Sonoma Square. It is well…read moreworth the trip to get there and enjoy the cheeses. The representative were friendly and helpful.

Delicious cheeses and great service. It's always a treat to go in and shop and also get a few…read moresamples.

Definitely a place worth visiting! We scored Jan to handle out tasing and she was confidently…read moreknowledgeable about everything to do with olives, olive oil, and how Jacuzzi makes it. Their olive oils are really good! They have a nice, large selection of styles and flavors to try. Their store is loaded with lots of great gifts and olive oils too. So, make a reservation and go!

Great place to visit and sample oils. Nice people who help you out but HORRIBLE follow up if you…read morebuy to ship something. We bought several bottles of oil and a vinegar. Still waiting for delivery or communication about delivery almost 19 days later..To ship in the US!!! They do not answer the phone nor emails. Very disappointing after such a fun time sampling. Not sure why this company would not have better customer service...Oh well ..still waiting for our delivery...

I don't come downtown often maybe 3 times a year. Today needed to grab something at the mall and…read moredecided to take a walk. Ended up here at Steinhouse. Was quickly by the owner who gave samples of chocolate to my boys and let me try some of the veteran owned hot sauce. Everything was great and the owner is super nice. Definitely worth stopping by if you are downtown

Seriously check this place out. It's like an old European chocolate store (at least from what I've…read moreseen on tv) and so much more. You can tell this store is the owners passion. He has many delicious samples, some even dairy free and vegan! all kinds of chocolate from all over the world, fun gifts like authentic German beer steins and old posters and decor. It's really fun store store and I recommend every one checking it out snd trying some delicious chocolate

This was for our 23rd wedding anniversary, so as a treat, I decided to invite my husband and close…read morefriends to lunch. While working in St. Helena, I could never find an opening in a reservation, so here was a great opportunity now that all of us are retired. Our friends live in Clear Lake while we live in Vallejo, so this is a central place to meet. It was the best decision I made because every year for the past several anniversaries, we've gone to Cache Creek to C2. Their food and service is excellent because my husband enjoys poker, but I thought a change of scenery would be nice. And it was! Firstly, it was very kind of the staff to present us with a greeting card signed by everyone -- how sweet and thoughtful! We will cherish that! Secondly, we were very impressed with how the food/wine was locally sourced. It was incredible to hear the story about Custom, the Bull, and taste the difference between the Highland beef compared to Angus. Our waitress was "Erica S." She was engaging, personable, and very informative. My husband and I would definitely like to return to return to experience the dinner menu! We and our guests had the following dishes: Artichoke appetizer Arbororio Biscuits & Gravy Two Cheeseburgers Three Bloody Mary's Farmstead Margarita When they found out it was our anniversary celebration, the house sent over four glasses of complimentary champagne and a dish of dessert -- again, very sweet and kind of them I now understand why so many crowds flock to this restaurant! It's well worth the wait! If you have not experienced a meal there, you must definitely go now!

I was really excited to try this restaurant for the first time, especially for Mother's Day, and…read morewhile the food itself was excellent, the overall experience was disappointing enough that I would not return. From the beginning, there seemed to be constant miscommunication between staff. We specifically booked an outdoor reservation and were seated inside instead. While mistakes happen, it set the tone for the rest of the evening. The bigger issue involved the wine and corkage fee. We purchased a bottle directly from the market associated with the restaurant and were told by the employee there that the corkage fee would be waived if we bought their wine. When we sat down, our server Sara told us that was not true and that we would still have to pay the fee. I explained what we had been told, and when she asked if I wanted a manager involved, I said yes. Before the manager even arrived or clarified the situation, the server opened our bottle of wine. In the silence and confusion, I reasonably assumed the fee issue had been resolved. Then the manager came over and told us we would still be charged and implied that nobody at the market would have told us otherwise. The way it was handled made my husband and I feel like we were being accused of making the whole thing up, which was especially upsetting on Mother's Day. At that point, the bottle was already opened, so we were essentially stuck paying the fee regardless. Between being seated incorrectly, the poor communication between employees, and how dismissive the situation felt, the service completely overshadowed what should have been a special meal. The rest of the service we felt ignored and there was minimal effort to accommodate. Great food alone is not enough to justify returning when the hospitality experience feels this frustrating and unprofessional.

We did a cooking class corporate event in Sonoma with the Epicurean Connection and it was the…read morehighlight of our trip. We really appreciated the kind, attentive and thoughtful owners and staff who taught us how to make butter from heavy cream, make a personal pizza with fresh and unique toppings, and sent us off with Thomas Keller chocolates and homemade Epicurean fromage, which is all the rage in the region. We would definitely do another class here. Support small and local businesses, you won't regret it!

So disappointed. I was so excited to do the cheesemaking experience and booked online. Showed up to…read morethe 3:30pm class 10 minutes early and the doors were locked and it looked like no one was inside the building. We tried calling the phone number multiple times and no one picked up. Also, knocked several times. Two other people arrived as well who tried knocking and calling to no avail. We waited until 3:45 until we gave up and left. After we left, we received an email saying we had been refunded and at the bottom of the receipt it said "We apologize as this order did not show up on our calendar until today. We look forward to hosting you in the future. Thank you, Sheana" (see attached screenshot). I think this is deeply unprofessional on so many levels. Even if the reservation had only shown up today on their calendar (despite us booking it several weeks prior) and they weren't prepared, they had all the time before 3pm to reach out via email or phonecall to say they couldn't make the class. They didn't even try reaching out and instead we received a refund after the scheduled class time. Lack of communication is such a bummer considering we set aside a couple hours for this and we were so excited. Also, this is located in Sonoma which means it's out of the way for people who are visiting Napa and its vineyards. That's typically not an issue but considering we had to drive out the way and we got cancelled on after we waited for them is where it is an issue. Deeply unprofessional situation and hope they improve on communication soon.

Thrilled to have this outlet nearby. I had placed an order online for pick up, yet once inside I…read morechose many more products to purchase. There are sale prices on plenty of items. And I tried their extra virgin olive oil- soooo good.

What a great find for outstanding local olive oil! With up to 40% discount on items from their…read morewebsite and retail store, it's a great bargain.

This place is so unique. You'll find foods that you cannot find anywhere else. It's really a trip…read moreto Europe! And the people are super nice! Highly recommended!

I'm so happy I found this cute store with all my favorite European foods. Olga, the owner, is…read moreincredibly kind, helpful and welcoming. I purchased my French butter and will be back for a lot more.